Stolen
by aplaceinthestars
Summary: ..."The first mistake was the decision to go to the village, then the choice to go through this part of the woods, then deciding to split up. But the biggest mistake, Inu-yasha, was not going after that girl the second she walked away."...


A/N :: My second Inu-yasha fic. Not much to say. Please read and review.

Disclaimer :: Inu-yasha isn't mine, but oh if he was…I'd sell him! YAY! Wait, no. Lyrics are credited.

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_Cloud and rain, smoke and smog here   
Won't see too many stars tonight   
Biding time, waiting on a sunset  
One last glance of gold, then goodbye_

The Thorns

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"Ka-Kagome?"

"What is it, Shippou?" Kagome Higurashi reached up to pat the small fox demon on the head where he sat, perched comfortably on the girl's shoulder.

"I don't like this place."

"I don't either, Shippou." She turned her gaze to her other companion who walked several feet ahead. "Why are we going this way, Inu-yasha?"

The half-demon did not falter in the slightest. "Because this is the way to the village."

"We couldn't go around another path?" Kagome pressed, flicking her flashlight around in agitation. The entire universe seemed to have gone gray and hazy. The distant sounds of breaking branches did nothing to settle Kagome's worries. The meager golden cone of the flashlight beam dipped between the endless rows of trees only to be suffocated by the darkness. Glancing upward, Kagome noted that the cloud cover had become even more ominous, choking away the last glimmers of starlight. "And why did we have to leave the others?"

"I already told you," Inu-yasha snarled. "And I'm not going to do it again just because you're too dense to listen."

"The fact that these woods are full of demons sounds more like a reason to stay together to me." She jumped at a loud crashing sound, nearly topping Shippou to the forest floor. "What was that?"

Inu-yasha disregarded her fearful question. "There _are_ a lot of demons—they're just all weak. I mean, even weaker than the usual scum we run into." He finally glanced back at the others, eyes glinting like hardened chips of amber. "This way we just split up the load."

"But it's…" _It's dark._ "It's late, Inu-yasha. Shouldn't we stop for the night?"

"We can't stop here. Just because these demons are weedy little wimps doesn't mean I want to sleep right in the middle of hundreds of them. It's asking for trouble—for _you_ anyway."

"Fine," Kagome spat. "I just wish I'd gone with the others."

"You can _see_ the jewel; I can _get_ the jewel," Inu-yasha responded angrily. "But I could find it without you if I have to. As of right now, your powers are nothing but a convenience. I don't need you, and I'm starting to think I don't want you at all."

Kagome blinked away angry tears. "I don't care. Just—"

"Kagome?" Shippou cut her off. "Do you…hear that?"

There was a crash similar to the ones before, louder now, and coming closer.

"It's the demons, Shippou. Don't worry."

"Not that," The kit replied.

Suddenly, a howl that could only be described as completely unnatural echoed through the forest. Birds scattered and even Inu-yasha froze in mid-step.

"That!" Shippou exclaimed, burying himself in Kagome's hair.

"Inu-yasha?" Kagome whispered.

"It's just demons. Come on." He grabbed her hand—the first sign that something was most certainly amiss—and started walking faster. "I'm sick of you slowing me down."

Kagome jerked her hand away. "Something's wrong and you know it."

"We've been walking through these woods all damn day! Now, just because it's dark, you have to start bitching and whining—"

"We've been walking through these woods—these same supposed 'demon-filled woods'—all day, and we haven't seen anything." Kagome planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Not only are these woods supposed to be full of demons—which mysteriously haven't appeared like you said—there's just been _nothing_. The only animals I've seen all day are a few birds…and I only saw them when they were flying away from whatever that sound was."

"You're such a baby. So they're having an off-day. Shut up."

"You know something's wrong. I'm not going to help you if you're going to stand there and lie to me when we're in danger."

"Then stay there," The half-demon replied flippantly. "If there _is_ something out there, maybe it'll go after you instead of those of us that aren't afraid of the dark."

"Please stop fighting…" Shippou pleaded, clinging tightly to Kagome. "I wanna get out of here now!"

"We're going, Shippou." Deliberately shoving past Inu-yasha, Kagome plunged into the darkness with Shippou, leaving Inu-yasha to watch the glow of her flashlight fade to a distant point.

"Dumbass!" He called, though part of him knew she was almost certainly out of earshot. "You're going the wrong way!" He rolled his golden eyes. "Fine. Go get lost in the woods. Get fuggin' eaten alive—see if I care."

With one last glance towards the path down which Kagome an Shippou had vanished, Inu-yasha continued trudging along through the darkness.


End file.
